Automated Chess - Losing to a Ghost

Square Off - the app-connected computer chess board that moves its own pieces.
Manufacturers Website squareoffnow.com
Affiliated Amazon Links US: amzn.to/2NXASKW
Amazon UK: amzn.to/2Nbim26
Amazon DE: amzn.to/32BlgRg
FAQs
WHAT'S INSIDE THE BOARD?
A few people queried why I didn't show the inside workings. It honestly just didn't cross my mind. I imagine everyone here can already picture exactly what will be inside without having to see it. It's going to be a small circuit board attached to something that looks a bit like a flatbed X/Y plotter arm with a magnet on the end.
I thought about going back and adding a section in to show the internals for the sake of completeness - but I couldn't see a way to open it non-destructively.
However if you really really are desperate to see the insides - then just search for 'Inside Magic Chessboard' on youtube - but you'll almost certainly wish that you hadn't bothered.
Q) How does it deal with castling?
A) You can see this (twice) in the video - watch the section with the streamed game.
Q) How does it deal with pawn promotion
A: Answer from here: www.chess.com/forum/view/gene...
“When you are promoting a pawn the app pops up with four choices Queen (the board comes with two), Rook, Knight, Bishop. You pick your promotion and it recognizes it from there.”
Q) How does the little horse ‘jump over’ the other pieces?
A) There’s no anti-gravity technology employed - but you can see the Knight manoeuvring around pieces at 8:53
Q) Where did you get that phone stand
A) It was included in the box - it’s the same as this one on Amazon (affiliated link) amzn.to/32Gnpez
Q) That wasn't Check Mate in McMullet & Blowhard?
A) It wasn't a real beard either.
CORRECTION: It’s approx 30 years since I last played chess, not 20 as stated in the video.
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[@Techmoan]

You'll find links and a bit more information in the Video Description Text Box. *Read this too if you think you want to know WHAT IS INSIDE THE BOARD?*

[@BillyEilish]

Thanks, man!

[@Hacks4AllVideos]

Here at my channel we love technology and you're one of the most important channels!

[@dmitriarkhangelski6023]

#suggestion watch agadmator's videos on youtube and you'll quickly learn how to beat the board 😉

[@GuinessOriginal]

Techmoan can it make the knights jump?

[@GuinessOriginal]

Techmoan and how does it castle?

[@brumach527]

Can you leave it playing against itself? it would be an wesome decoration piece

[@TimperialBroadcastingAgency]

outstanding_move.jpg

[@imhulki463]

Wow, that is such a genius idea

[@yusuf_kizilkaya]

that's genuinely one of the best ideas I have heard in a while

[@3rdassassin50]

Woah, it would be like a harry Potter

[@scottrastyles2592]

That's basically what the streaming button does

[@mx2000]

This must be this "auto-chess" that the kids are talking about...

[@InvidiousIgnoramus]

@@trollop_7 That's the joke, dude.

[@markedone6667]

@@trollop_7 ----The-Joke---> Your (*_*) head

[@88oscuro]

@@trollop_7 r/whooosh

[@NullByte_-mm4dn]

i'm dumb explain please i don't get it

[@More_Row]

NullByte4532 _ Auto chess is also a popular game mode in mobas specifically Dota, and League Of Legends (team-fight tactics is the same thing. So the joke is the OP heard kids talking about auto chess and thought it was this. (Only it’s a joke so he does actually know.)

[@plainblocks2]

Just imagine the chessboard beeping in the dead of night when you're sleeping, waking up to chess pieces facing your room.

[@traxler4855]

Like your imagination

[@isaacwillis_gaming2030]

thought actually horrified me!

[@AtticusStount]

Doesn't that happen to you?

[@MoofEMP]

jumanji except it's a chess set

[@bogartwilley]

Dude I just spent like 15 minutes if my life hype as hell for a dream I know full well I'm too poor to ever grasp.... And you ruin it with shit so scary and creepy the entire "Puppet Master" franchise is asking how to be creepy You sir deserve a prize.... Imma burn this $0.89 checkers now though, the seed of fear is already planted

[@JohnPaulBuce]

the piece safely moving between other pieces is so satisfying

[@clairmoon06]

ikr! it's so polite XD it's like it's saying excuse me for a bit, I'm passing through, just taking that pawn real quick.. yes thank you

[@kellymoses8566]

That must have been the hardest part to get working

[@luongmaihunggia]

​@@kellymoses8566the easy solution would be to make the pieces very small and the squares very big

[@RockBottomRiser21]

Imagine buying this, not telling your roommate what it does and they just come home to chess pieces moving on their own.

[@TheAechBomb]

especially if it could play against itself

[@aljowen]

@@TheAechBomb You can get it to stream other peoples games, so in theory you could just leave it whirring away to itself like some sort of moving ornament.

[@stuart959]

@@aljowen I was thinking this would go great in an eccentric person's house self playing games while atop a self playing piano.

[@TheTruthKiwi]

Haha that would be quite amusing. Build a table so the top of the board is flush for more realism and to deaden the sound somewhat. An expensive and possibly labour intensive prank but it'd be worth it :p

[@Brutaltronics]

If only it worked without the app

[@paulintalabot4132]

It's a trick :The Mechanical Turk is hide under the table with a magnet.

[@luciuscaeciliuslucundus3647]

references references

[@ecos2ndchannel352]

Blessed references 😂😂😂

[@maj113]

Spelling spelling

[@luciuscaeciliuslucundus3647]

@@maj113 L-I-N-G L-I-N-G (I spelled ling twice as requested)

[@maj113]

@@luciuscaeciliuslucundus3647 lul tho thats not what i meant

[@johnk3841]

12:07 *White moves* Techmoan (as black): Oh the Sicilian defense lmao

[@TheRaven123]

The checkmate at 12:18 isn't even checkmate, c6 is hanging

[@randomperson6215]

Yea lol people who pretend to play chess be like that

[@guille3283]

@@TymexComputing exactly what I wanted to comment lol

[@Techmoan]

@@guille3283 *17:53*

[@IrisGalaxis]

@@TymexComputing How come?

[@SneakyMango]

*When you see your queen move on it's own* *_NONONONONONONONO_*

[@clairmoon06]

lmaoooo

[@chillegaming1837]

XXXXXXXXXDDDDDDDDD

[@AutPen38]

Eric Rosen: "Oh no, my queen!"

[@StephenBoyd21]

I'm sorry Dave, I can't let you move your Bishop.

[@ian_b]

"Open the chess game Hal"

[@rachmatzulfiqar]

I read this in hal's voice, What is this trickery?!??!

[@tonyellen_]

@@rachmatzulfiqar LOL If you're nerdy you automatically read a sentence that starts with those three words in Hal's voice!! Did the same d*amn thing myself!

[@burzum_]

Erb

[@HAL.9000]

I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.

[@altEFG]

"I don't have any friends" - Techmoan, the most relatable tech youtuber, 2019

[@sbrazenor2]

🤣

[@anotheruser9876]

"Your bishop's exposed." "It's these pants."

[@user-xk8rb7nn8p]

@@banjopink4409 That three inch thing he has, right

[@Dowent]

"I'm usually wearing a fuller cut."

[@ralphclark]

Let's hope he doesn't try to take a Queen with it

[@luciuscaeciliuslucundus3647]

@@ralphclark Stop all this pawnographic language

[@DhonJoe]

@@luciuscaeciliuslucundus3647 I'm tired of these puns good knight

[@henrybooks7193]

“Play with friends” *”well I don’t have any friends”*

[@maj113]

-_-

[@RandomU2ber]

Friends don't deserve an awsome guy like this 😇

[@lidominic6307]

not only do you need a friend, they also need to have this 2000 dollar board

[@wisenotwise2676]

@@lidominic6307 yooo my phone is literally free and I can download chess and play it for free

[@picketf]

@@lidominic6307 from what I understood from their website 2 people can play on 1 board using 2 phones each one inputing their moves without touching the board or like he did, lifting and setting down again the pieces and it will update the moves to both paired phones.

[@Hacks4AllVideos]

Flippin 'eck, mate. It's a checkmate.

[@bland9876]

Lol

[@Soul_Alpha]

Are you daft? There's pockets of checkmates everywhere.

[@highpath4776]

Is he wearing the check jacket?

[@Syncromatic]

The “intelligence scene” felt like a live action adaption of one of the puppet skits xD

[@DLWormwood]

Felt? What felt? I only saw flesh...

[@patrickmccurry1563]

@@DLWormwood Really? All I saw was wig and beard.

[@donaldklopper]

I got the same vibe

[@user-xg8yy7yl1d]

I swear ive seen the "im playing against a grand master and he send me his moves on the telegram" in a movie somewhere but i havent been able to find what one

[@VauxhaIIOpel]

rip puppet skits

[@Fopenplop]

I don't know if Mr. Moan is a father, but I hope he takes it as a compliment when I say that he radiates a comforting techy dad energy

[@svenjansen2134]

Could be granddad.

[@thomasbarker2888]

Parasocial creep.

[@Fopenplop]

@@thomasbarker2888 you're not wrong

[@thomasbarker2888]

@@Fopenplop Aww. Now I feel like a dick... thanks!

[@favoritemustard3542]

@@thomasbarker2888 what did you say? YT has shadowed it.

[@ITSFLESHY]

"let's play something daft" *develops knight

[@Havron]

"Ah yes, you've, uh, opened with the...Fibonacci sequence... Only the grandmasters know that one."

[@peterhoulihan9766]

"I don't have any friends" -Techmoan 2019 tearsforfears.mp3

[@runouno]

*All around me are familiar faces*

[@Blankult]

Me neither

[@KC9UDX]

@@runouno worn out faces

[@jmtrad1906]

he should call 8 bit guy to play. i just hope he don't bring his glock 19 to end the game.

[@giulianodenardi7654]

Geri's Game imitating life

[@zwete]

It should have voice control, and it would be like wizard chess.

[@elvis_mello]

I would guess it shouldnt be that hard to program something able hack this app and make it understand speech I mean, who would hack a chess app? Why secure it?

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@elvis_mello yeah I remember being able to "Knight to D5" or whatever in the OSX chess app with voice control in 2008, and speech recognition is even better today, so it shouldn't be that hard if someone really wanted to inject some of their own code. Maybe easier to do with the Android version than the iOS version. In practice it did get a bit old after ten minutes though.

[@3DJapan]

@@elvis_mello Well, I guess people could bet on a chess game so you'd expect the game to not allow cheating.

[@the_hanged_clown]

@@3DJapan because it's impossible to bet on games where one can't cheat

[@allanadam4553]

It needs to throw a tantrum when you beat it, flying pieces and swearing as well

[@xenasaur520]

"let's do something daft" >sensibly develops knight

[@dula5397]

Actually the sensible development is Bishop there

[@xenasaur520]

@@dula5397 there's absolutely nothing wrong with developing the knight first. in fact, in the barcza system, the knight is usually developed before the bishop is fianchetto'd, as with the king's Indian defense

[@xenasaur520]

@New Kid you're calling me a nerd for knowing chess theory despite the fact that you're watching a chess video?

[@princepudsy1651]

someone was clearly bullied lmao

[@Dead25m]

@New Kid Kids like you shouldn't be allowed to comment.

[@luke-alex]

8:33 "It's like a game of chess this, isn't it?" Haha!

[@kwastek]

I was wondering how this would deal with knight moves, but it is great just squeezing between other pieces.

[@mal2ksc]

Castling is equally fun to watch, as it swings the rook around the king.

[@HRRRRRDRRRRR]

You would think for the price it would have small enough tolerances that it doesn't hit pieces that it has previously moved, as the knight slides past. 8:28

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@kwastek >>> I thought _Bob Seeger_ already covered that topic...😊😊😊

[@bobblum5973]

@@Allan_aka_RocKITEman Drat! You beat me to it, wanted to say they'd been working on their "knight moves"... ☺👍

[@GreyHulk2156]

14:41 - There's something charming about seeing that last white pawn finding his way home. :)

[@polski_dezerter]

mesmoraising

[@gloomyblackfur399]

Every so often, you have to step back and think "for nearly the entirety of human history, this device was fantastical beyond possibility, but now anyone can own it". It just solidifies your faith in science.

[@sklefenz]

9:25 "No human, you're not allowed to take my pieces"

[@ryan00101101]

It was a legitimate unstoppable spear against the queen.

[@HAL.9000]

I’m afraid I can’t do that...

[@twocvbloke]

The level below rust? Erm, British Leyland perhaps? :P

[@Sharklops]

I think you'll actually find that rust is almost always under a British Leyland

[@twocvbloke]

Nah, BL was always "Rusted to shit", meaning it was utterly no good... :P

[@DenkyManner]

Knackered

[@simontay4851]

Siezed.

[@callumhardy5098]

twocvbloke What!, shit!?

[@gustavgnoettgen]

"Ah yes, you opened with the Fibonacci sequence..." 🤣 Like my own attempts to play this game. Me: (moves pawn) Her: (moves the same pawn on her side) Me: (appreciatively) "Interesting move..."

[@enricorov]

"...oustanding."

[@vylbird8014]

Easy enough to program the machine for banter. Simply have it score the player's moves using the same algorithm it uses to make it's own, calculate how this ranks compared to other possible moves, and look up the appropriate response in a table of pre-recorded one-liners. The lowest-scoring lines would have to include a lot of creative insults of course, especially as you'll need to include variety to keep the banter from getting repetitive.

[@gustavgnoettgen]

@@vylbird8014 ok but where is the easy part?

[@VectraQS]

Every game I play inevitably turns into a Four Knights opening. Probably because I don't actually know any openings.

[@danielrivero8811]

My favorite part about the video is how 12:17 is literally not even checkmate 😭

[@petrkarasek6657]

?

[@auxencefromont1989]

@@petrkarasek6657 the king can take the c6 pawn and be fine

[@YippingFox]

@@Temerold_se He is actually in check 5 times. (both knight, two pawns (c4 & d4) and the bishop.)

[@Almagells]

Not fine, but there is no checkmate in one or two

[@CustomsByOrangeH]

Teacher: "Explain your use of 'literally.' What makes it different from a figurative checkmate? -2pts"

[@m0rdresh]

My Grand Kingdom Set just arrived. I have many chess setups (DGT Centaur, DGT E-Board, etc.), I must say the feeling while playing on the Square Off with the pieces automatically moving is really something else. It's difficult to explain experiencing it over just reading or viewing it on KZbin. It really does feel you are playing against someone sitting across from you, it delivers what it sets out to do.

[@allissondiego1989]

Techmoan could review a duct tape and still make it entertaining

[@brianhill4153]

That would be entertaining 😂

[@hunterdavis3003]

dgpx84 hey dad when are you coming back home? Its taken you three years to go get smokes?

[@elisha770]

Recent duct tape fashion show is worth a look.. look it up

[@bobblum5973]

Duct tape review would be great, agreed. I'd like to see him pick up a real working Stargate off eBay and do a review. It's hard to get more retro than Ancient technology. 😄

[@mortoopz]

Heh, funnily enough, the surrounded king was not in checkmate. C6 is safe.

[@RichardCJohnson]

Mort OOPz Ha! Came here to say that too, but thought I’d check if someone else had 😁

[@erikbroome5699]

What is even funnier is that the situation is impossible to achive if you follow the standard rules of chess since the Black King is attacked by no less than 5 different pieces. Either the King moved into check or didn't move out of check last move (both cases illegal).

[@TheRausing1]

Really really cool, very much reminds me of the film ‘Jumanji’ in the way the pieces move. In that film, one of the characters back in the 60’s says, “it must be magnets or something”, while in the 90’s, they say “must be microchips or something”. Just an interesting thing.

[@neofoxboi]

Some thoughts on how this works under the board: A header moves along the X and Y axis, much like a crane game or an etcha-sketch. Each piece contains a magnet, and an electromagnet is likely powered once the header is under a piece, moving it along. The pieces are cleverly 1/2 the size of the spaces, so they can move amongst each other with few disturbances.

[@drummerboy6358]

I agree fellow Damian

[@ApostolisKourtis]

For a moment I was sure that the table was the chess set

[@tubeMonger]

Looked more like a board to me.

[@ooferrell]

I did too... which makes me question that terrible choice of color on that table LOL. It looks like that table is from an old-school Diner

[@binface9]

"I'm hoping much of this packaging, is packaging" That's a gift for the [YTP] guys right there

[@jrsc01.]

Live watching your videos, love also your comedic cutaway gags also! Look forward to watching your videos, is great seeing tech that I didn't know existed or I remember from yesteryear! Thanks Mat.

[@thelanternexpress9371]

*moves black queen* "Ah, the Sicilian defense! Quite intriguing.." Me: *visible confusion*

[@Handhandme]

HAHAHAH that part got me

[@alessandroduci9962]

@Fred Smith how can you play the Lopez aganist the sicilian??

[@alessandroduci9962]

@Fred Smith 1.e4 Is not the ruy Lopez, that is called the king's pawn opening and you can enter the ruy Lopez when black goes e5 then White with knight f3 black with knight c6 and then bishop b5 Is called the ruy Lopez, playing the sicilian means black going 1.c5 so you cannot play a sicilian and a Lopez in the same game

[@alessandroduci9962]

@Fred Smith you better learn the game before talking about it

[@alessandroduci9962]

@Fred Smith yeah but the sicilian has nothing ti do with the ruy Lopez as with tour notation the sicilian Is p-k4 p-qb4

[@john_hunter_]

It would be cool if you could let it stream random games while you aren't using it.

[@imouse3246]

He didn't say, but I wonder if it can replay the great games of the past?

[@KnightsWithoutATable]

@@imouse3246 This would be a really cool feature and there is no reason that you could do it with the hardware since all of the logic is being controlled by the phone. You would just have to write an app that interfaced with the board and told it the moves to make and when. I could see it play them in sequence at a set speed that was adjustable and at a replicated time of the actual match.

[@fordtechchris]

That would be awesome just running on your coffee table while friends are over

[@johnny2tons]

"It's like being slapped by a computer for being stupid." Love it!

[@stevieg7403]

This is an absolutely fantastic bit of kit. Problem with Chess, I play 99% of my matches via a phone or pad so when you come across a game or an actual chessboard I find I’m completely lost. This will allow you to still play online chess while visually playing over the board chess, I’m testing

[@ashtimbo]

make the pieces 3D. It's easy on lichess you just change the piece type

[@brawk1]

I've watched you for 7 years and just want you to know that what you're doing is an absolute inspiration. This world is better with you in it.

[@dirtyker]

That’s cool and all but that company needs to start making Jumanji

[@odieabdlrheem1847]

wija boards

[@A_Simple_Neurose]

@שחר א. luigi boards?

[@hodd.]

All of these replies fill me with fear

[@bogartwilley]

I wish we could get a legit Jumanji

[@leechowning2712]

Why. Someone already has. It the only excuse for 2020.

[@demogorgonzola]

6:14``I don't have any friends`` ...

[@TheStanHill]

So relatable!

[@litigioussociety4249]

You don't make too many friends, when you invite people to play chess.

[@demogorgonzola]

@Mr. Dank I'm using "double gravis" (grave accent signs - ` ) to make original statement from the video stand out more and later normal quotation marks in the body of my comment when needed. It's handy in cases when comment has quotes from somewhere else of mentions titles (like books and movies).

[@XeonProductions]

I thought maybe he meant he didn't have any friends that had that same $200 chess set.

[@robindp]

Matt, last I checked...you have 849K friends! :)

[@MrPruske]

super cool. I've always wanted one like this myself, nice to see that they made the pieces small enough in reference to the board for the knight to squeeze by with its movement

[@MrNileck]

Thank you for the work you put into this video. Informative + had a great time watching it Cheers!!!📚✌🏻

[@tomokokuroki2506]

Kickstarter product that actually works? That in of itself is a miracle.

[@user-ht4xt2sh9m]

until it breaks within the first few months

[@Trekeyus]

Tell that to Palmer luckey. The Oculus was a smash success on Kickstarter. The Pebble smartwatch was a smash success. There are several other examples of products that do exactly what they're supposed to.

[@brianh02]

I'll stick to playing global thermonuclear war.

[@tohlmann1969]

A strange game.The only winning move is not to play

[@JaredConnell]

shALL we PLAY a GAME?

[@mauriciomarianocarneiro]

Joshua?

[@SyntheticFuture]

Resetting that game takes way to freaking long though...

[@twistedviewlabs]

@@tohlmann1969 actually a very powerful statement.

[@RedLink27]

I have to say man, I love your content. It's from the heart, informative, well put together and is just plain fun to watch. Keep at 'er!

[@alexandergoldthorpe4585]

Imagine how cool it would be if the pieces all moved at once when resetting. That would look magical...

[@MobCat_]

"Play with friends, I don't have any friends" Sad, true and relatable :(

[@tubester4567]

Its only sad if you want friends.

[@Techmoan]

True - I’m good.

[@lashyndragon]

@@tubester4567 there needs to be a rent-a-friend service. Like sometimes I wish I had friends, but I just can't be bothered to maintain any more relationships than necessary.

[@fotofillholland]

I was just imagining buying a dummy to place opposite me to whilst playing. And then I read somebody wanting to give this to an elderly relative...sorry you never see me, here you go, see you in another five years.

[@SpudGun200]

“You would need a time machine...” BUT you do have a time machine.

[@warrennotestine2906]

I already knew you would say that.

[@raymondo162]

that will probably explain itself at some point in the past

[@RCAvhstape]

It's all wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.

[@anononomous]

I wouldn't be surprised if the time machine was used to bring back one of the retro boards pictured in the video for the sake of comparison at some point 🙂🤞

[@benjaminmiddaugh2729]

I call mine a clock.

[@coasterairtime]

6:58 "It's quite magical!" 7:30 "What is this witchery? It took my Rook, I am loosing already??!"

[@powerpc127]

I'm having a strong Jumanji flashback watching this. I didn't think it would be as nerve wracking as it was.

[@redpheonix1000]

So I'm guessing the way this works is that each piece has a bit of metal underneath, and the way the board moves the pieces is with a couple of stepper motors for X and Y axis (the noise you hear when it operates), then enables an electromagnet to grab the piece, then moves to where it needs to go and releases it. That would be quite simple and ingenious! Try grabbing a piece while it's moving and see if it's harder to pull, or try sticking a magnet to the bottom of the pieces! Or you could, of course, just pop the screws off ;)

[@Techmoan]

*There’s a bit more information about this in the video description text box.*

[@kinamiya1]

This is kind of creepy tbh the slow movement of the chess pieces it just looks like you are playing with a possesed chessboard

[@Soul_Alpha]

That's what I was thinking, looks like something demonic going on there like a Ouija board.

[@ClayMann]

I just thought it looked incredibly cool. A bit sad that it has to be so big. I'd love to see inside what's going on.

[@ErebuBat]

TIL slow=demonic fast=okay

[@rusky2655]

Ozzmand yeah look up scp 1875

[@rusky2655]

This is literally scp 1875

[@aliidogar]

Greetings mate, it felt so good to see you smiling and happy like a kid. You rarely look so happy in your videos. For you, it was indeed a childhood dream come true. Love your work!! ....you rock!!!!!

[@Gabe3N]

Why does this amaze me so much. From the time the computer moved the first pawn all I could say was "holy sh*t."

[@AtheistOrphan]

Just remembered: For numpties like me my MB Phantom had a ‘Hint’ button which would wobble the piece it suggested you move!

[@6581punk]

Wobbling stuff is now (c) and patented by Apple :)

[@whynotanyting]

The box taking the rook away was pretty funny. Does the box flip the table over if it loses?

[@UnicaLuce]

@Mr. Dank all towards you :)

[@MrTeddy12397]

when it loses it detonates a small 1kg plastic explosive charge inside the board. on the human player's side of course

[@tomf3150]

Would be fun if the magnet moving the pieces was doubled with a strong electromagnet that send pieces flying away.

[@jur4x]

@@MrTeddy12397 1kg? I don't think it maaters at that point on which side of the board that charge is.

[@IlBiggo]

Board be like (╯ರ ~ ರ）╯︵ ┻━┻

[@kavyman1066]

"I don't have any friends" I really want to give Matt a big hug! The feels.

[@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886]

What an eerily beautiful machine to watch in action. Wonderful. It would make a great gift for Chess lovers.

[@10p6]

I made an automatic Chess game like this 30 years ago, using a similar principle to Etch-a-Sketch, but replacing the knobs with stepper motors and using electromagnet.

[@saraha180]

That's clearly exactly how this works internally. It's basically a plotter with a magnet instead of a pen.

[@rodmunch69]

Interesting, but I made an automatic chess game like this 31 years ago. You're ripping me off.

[@GRBtutorials]

And what AI did you use 30 years ago? Because otherwise it doesn’t make much sense to make an automatic chess game

[@anononomous]

@@GRBtutorials Chess computers (either programmes or boards) were pretty common and affordable 30 years ago. AI (albeit very specialised and not nearly as strong as today) is not a new thing.

[@CanuckJim]

I don't see it as slapping you - I see it as a good player who's infinitely patient with your limitations.

[@costascostas1760]

Deep.. never thought of AI this way before.

[@sashalofstrom6659]

@@costascostas1760 You should read Iain m. Banks' "Culture" series for good fiction about humans coexisting with superintelligent AIs

[@costascostas1760]

@@sashalofstrom6659 thanks will have a look!

[@Cat_Trainer]

So entertaining to watch and the way how slow the machine move gives you more time to think :) amazing product!

[@russellthorburn9297]

I'd be very curious to see how it manages a capture of a piece, by a knight, that is completely surrounded by other pieces. Would it move some pieces out of the way temporarily and then replace them?

[@georgiishmakov9588]

a piece can pass between two other pieces easily.

[@RahulJC]

This was developed in my undergrad school! I had the opportunity to see it in the prototype stage!

[@photonicsauce7729]

So people in your undergrad school came up with this idea?

[@photonicsauce7729]

Thats so cool!

[@RahulJC]

@@photonicsauce7729 well I'm not sure if they came up with the idea or not but this was back in 2014, i was using the schools 3d printer when i came across this group since they were prototyping it, and they were also 3d printing test parts. I had asked them what they were upto as i saw them print chess pieces.

[@photonicsauce7729]

@@RahulJC cool!

[@Jamato-sUn]

Muppet segment in the middle of the video was unexpected :D

[@MercuriusORG]

Make it snappy cracked me up 😆

[@drxoomg]

It has become its own muppet

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@J-sUn >>> The REGULAR MUPPETS look MORE REALISTIC...😝😝😝😝😝😝😝

[@bobblum5973]

"In our line of work we expect the unexpected...". How to make a video about chess entertaining, in typical Techmoan fashion. I was half expecting to see the muppets at the end, critiquing the live-action segment!

[@EvilRSA]

OMG, I love the Outro song. Thank you so much for the link to the full song.

[@Tahngarthor]

Techmoan: "I don't have any friends" KZbin: Yes you do >.>

[@silenceofthehills7610]

KZbin is anything but a friend.

[@Tahngarthor]

@@silenceofthehills7610 I'm sorry, I forgot not everyone around me was clever enough to realize that I'm talking about KZbin the community, not youtube the company.

[@lavishlyDecorated]

That's fucking sad.

[@wellesradio]

@@Tahngarthor "the community" is even scarier.

[@tonyleungnl]

An app is definitely no go, otherwise this would be a nice gift for some of my elder family member.

[@kaitlyn__L]

I've got to wonder if the app is literally running the board's algorithms even in single player, or if they could release an app-optional version with a few extra buttons.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@Bobo there can be a difference between current path of least resistance and long term least resistance. If there's an OS update in five years that breaks all older apps, such as iOS removing 32bit support, then they'd have to redo the app or just brick the product. But if they have some chess routines on the board, since it obviously has enough power to communicate wirelessly and with low latency, that would be less resistance in an uncertain future. But of course it's much easier to get initially running, to just run the computations on the phone and have an Arduino in the board and leave it at that. I can only hope they release an update that can slightly increase on-board functionality ahead of closure if they ever do have to shut down. They're almost certainly just renting cloud space anyway, not running their own hardware, so the infrastructure could go away very quickly if things turn south. Even if it took the microcontroller longer to work out a move than the phone, it's still going to be more powerful than an 80s home micro.

[@AschKris]

@@kaitlyn__L I bet that even now someone is hacking away at reverse engineering the comms so they can make an standalone app

[@kaitlyn__L]

@Bobo yeah.. that's a shame. I don't like how disposable software has become. I do agree with you that that's how they probably did it though.

[@6581punk]

Friend of mine has a guitar FX pedal which accepts an old iPhone 3G(s) as the controller. He has had to appeal to people for donations to keep it going. He has a backup of the phone with app, the app is long gone from the app store.

[@MagicAccent]

9:27 I was like "wait, not there". Laughed out loud when the pawn started sliding away the next move 😂

[@oskarpetersen5722]

he's already done goofed at that stage, there's no way for him to save the queen. he got checked by the knight in the move before, and the blunder was that he put his king in front of the queen, effectively creating a discovered skewer once the knight was moved.

[@Techmoan]

@@oskarpetersen5722 17:53

[@Techmoan]

@@oskarpetersen5722 17:53

[@ianforfun1]

@@oskarpetersen5722 Can you repeat that? Please

[@Almagells]

Put the king in front of Queen was only legal move, don't you see that? The blunder was earlier moves

[@Zorgot.]

holy hell this board is so amazing I was expecting to be like one of those boards that just tells you where the computer wants to move a piece but no this one does it by itself that's amazing I want one now

[@ItsaRomethingeveryday]

Someone in a friend's livestream mentioned your channel, that's how I found you, this chess game looks like alot of fun, liked video

[@video99couk]

You can be like Tony Hancock with this thing. "I've got friends all over the world, all over the world . . . none in this country, but friends all over the world."

[@mikeos1]

Facebook to a T!

[@ERIC-65]

But wait, you didn't take it all apart to show us how it works!

[@Techmoan]

*There’s a bit more information about this in the video description text box.*

[@NenadKralj]

(: there is no need to fix if it works :)

[@virtuafighter3]

There is already a video on KZbin that takes this apart. (There is not much to see - it looks like a plotter / scanner mechanism).

[@ERIC-65]

@@virtuafighter3 Oh yes, thank you, I have seen this by now!

[@turnerthemanc]

Quite a cool piece of kit. Great channel

[@hadireg]

I loved it! I was amazed by those ads for computerized chess boards back when!

[@MasterKofficial]

great episode and i absolutly agree with you. i would also prever a version where the app is completly optional. just some buttons more on the board and everything would be fine. not going to pay this much money for the risk that in some years the company is gone... but i love the idea of this chessboard, looks great.

[@Spookspek]

The pressing could have been prevented with RFID chips in individual pieces...

[@yuriythebest]

Indeed, though they'd have to make an individual RFID scanner under every position. Currently it seems there is a printer-esque moving thing underneath with a magnet.

[@M4rcLL]

12:15 "That is checkmate!" O R I S I T ? (actually not lol)

[@jeremydumanski7584]

Kc6 and you're out of check hahaha

[@shieladixon]

I've just watched this yet again and not for the last time. I think it's my favourite of your videos, you seem a little more chatty and genuinely enjoying yourself. Yes, I remember chess on the telly and yes the design of that board on the app does take me back there. Thanks!

[@wyldride]

The Mechanical Turk, only you don't have to conceal a chess grandmaster in the bottom of it to work it. Which, I guess, is kind of a bonus for the grandmaster.

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

You say that, but what about all the out-of-work grandmasters begging on the streets now?

[@redgunnit]

@@andrewgwilliam4831 Forced to go hungry without a mechanical chess player to climb inside of and puppet.

[@gcewing]

It's remarkable that they've managed to fit the dwarf into such a small space.

[@gregorypurdy6079]

Love you Techmoan. Thanks for your youtube work!, :-)

[@IemonIime]

man that chess skit was good. i love how he flips the king down at the end! :D

[@Phos9]

The playing surface being wood would work, but I suspect such a surface would need to be thin and thus prone to cracking. Oh pressure sensitive? That would make it even worse. I imagine getting the puppets to play chess wasn’t going to happen.

[@ColossalZonko]

the border in wood would, for me at least, double the quality feel. the playfield itself doesn't really matter to me tbh, I can understand why it's plastic.

[@Phos9]

Mathias DP yeah that does seem like a bit of a cheat.

[@hardlyme779]

"wood would it?"

[@ColossalZonko]

@@hardlyme779 I panicked, thinking that I made a mistake haha

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

Phos9 Pressure sensitivity could be achieved by using proper wooden inlay with a different type of wood for the white squares. Anyway the rules could be more easily enforced by treating "lifted from board" and "put back down" as "touching the piece" and "touching the board". Some way to magnetically ID pieces would still reduce mistakes.

[@Henchman1977]

The board could make an interesting discussion piece for parties... Have it set up and streaming in a prominent area... Would be really cool watching the pieces move around the board by themselves....

[@reyflowers]

Great vid, love when you do those silly little skits :)

[@95rav]

A similar device has been around since at least 1978 (sans Bluetooth etc), which operated the same, and could definitely play against itself. In that year, I was watching such a machine in demo mode playing itself. It was in a display window at a games/ magic/ novelty shop. As I watched it, a young girl stood there, fascinated, watching it too. She excitedly called to her father "Look, dad, the things move by themselves" - at which point, he slapped her and said "What have I told you about lying?" A moment later, a piece moved by itself. The man just said "Oh...", looked at me embarrassed, took the girl by the hand and walked off quickly. Never outright dismiss a child's imagination or invisible friends.

[@medes5597]

As a chess player, I covet this for the ability to stream as much as anything.

[@espurious]

If you get the really expensive board it comes with a Twitch partnership contract

[@gustavrsh]

Must be fun to watch championships with this

[@rjbush7955]

Makes me want to dust of the Amiga 500 and play Battle Chess.

[@98dizzard]

I f*cking loved that as a kid, didn’t think anyone else had ever heard of it.

[@AfferbeckBeats]

I had it on DOS and I loved the hell out of that game. So much personality in those pieces. Multiple animations for each piece to kill each other piece. And I recall it being a really challenging AI to play against, though I was young.

[@martinhodge921]

Thumbs up just for your avatar.. tar..tar..tar!

[@hans_normal]

And it works on your Atari 1040ST too!

[@costascostas1760]

@@hans_normal that war ended long time ago when Amiga won ;) Ps. I am an atari person.

[@Everett-xe3eg]

This is absolutely amazing and I want to buy one

[@Dresdentrumpet]

Loved your little skit about chess in movies. That is the way I always remembered it being in movies.

[@NightlyHigh]

Those camera angles you telling how much you like playing the game were great! Nice little depth of field there.

[@RavenLuni]

Nice. I agree about the phone issue though - everyone and their dog is obsessed with f***ing apps.

[@andreiandrosoff1327]

I think companies are drawn into using apps because it's a both "cool" and "cheap" way to add advanced functionality. It's not because they actually think it's cutting edge or good design.

[@UberAlphaSirus]

internet based software is the current media nowadays and wifi , bluetooth are new redundant parallel and serial ports. What does piss me off is not having stand alone apps, that require an active server, login and cloud shit.

[@rs0389]

Even older people are...

[@Caluma122]

What an amazing bit of kit!

[@AlSuChess]

I am glad to see this board reviewed. I've reviewed this board on my channel, my version of the board was acting a little bit off. Have you seen the new rollup board from Square off?

[@FrottyZaoldyeck]

Recently started playing chess again and now this video hits :D

[@Soul_Alpha]

Your device knows what you do even when you aren't on it.

[@enzoperruccio]

@Soul Alpha You know what else knows everything I do? Your mum.

[@bmbpdk]

"The content is allways smaller than the packaging" You can apply that to many thing in life.

[@funnboy84]

Fascinating, as always!